The Secret of the Feather
by Sunnycanary
Summary: Dan and Amy Cahill thought the clue hunt was over. They didn't know that there was a 40th clue - one that would lead them to the bottom of the world.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is a new story - I wanted the Cahills to go to this place in the series. But they never did, although they DID come quite close. So I decided to make a 40th clue for them that stops the side-effects of the serum. And they will come to this country!**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, following and favouriting. Please stay with this story! And review! Reviews really help!**

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**Dan**

Dan thought the whole deal with the 39 Clues was over. They had travelled all around the world to find thirty-nine secret ingredients, which would make a serum, powerful enough to make its drinker pretty much invincible. Dan thought he had enough adventure for his lifetime.

But he was so deep in the pit of boredom, he was afraid he could never make it out again. His history teacher droned on and on about how Benjamin Franklin created lightning rods. Dan already knew all of this. The first clue he and his sister, Amy, had found was guided by hints from Benjamin Franklin. He already had enough of him.

His phone, which was sitting on his lap in silent mode, suddenly vibrated. No one else noticed as he quickly opened a new text message. It was from Amy, and it said _Get out of class. Important Cahill meeting NOW. Meet me in the car park._

Grinning from ear to ear, like the Cheshire Cat, Dan slipped his phone into his pocket and raised his hand. "Can I go to the bathroom?" Dan used his most polite voice. The teacher waved for him to go with a bored expression and carried on with the lesson.

Thankful that he had left his bag in his locker, Dan grabbed all the stuff he thought he would need, and rushed to the car park as quietly as he could. There, he found Amy talking into her phone agitatedly. She waved him over and he waited for her conversation to finish.

Soon, a car pulled up, and Nellie Gomez looked through the window. "Hurry up, kiddos," she whispered, motioning them to sit in the backseat. When they slid in and closed the door, she sped off to their mansion. Their mansion was also used as a Cahill base, with beeping monitors and surveillance cameras.

Amy called a few more people, and finally slumped in her seat. Dan wondered what was wrong. He wished he had the power to read minds.

They drove in silence, Nellie listening to some upbeat music on her iPod. They screeched past a red light, while other drivers honked at them. Finally, they pulled into the driveway of their mansion, where Sinead was waiting for them.

"Guys, I've found something very important," announced Sinead with a troubled expression. "Let's discuss this over coffee."

When they all had a steaming mug between their hands, Amy asked, "So, what is this important thing you found?"

"I was looking through all the documents we had on the original serum and fire. Here, look at this."

Dan leaned in and stared at the aging document. There was soot all over the pages, and lots of the text was burned off.

_I have found an i_at can help t_rinker with the side-eff_of the serum. Add one _eather to the serum. This bird can be found in Ne_._

"I've already written it all on here," said Sinead, holding out a piece of paper.

"Ok, we need to figure out the words." Amy grabbed a pen and handed one to each of them.

Dan looked at the message again. "_Rinker_ could be _drinker_, and _eff_ could be _effects_." He pointed out the words. Sinead filled in the blanks.

"That could be feather. It makes sense. It says _bird_ in the next line," figured out Amy. "We need to figure out where this bird can be found. What countries start with Ne?"

"The Netherlands," offered Sinead.

"Nepal."

"New Zealand."

"New Caledonia."

Writing them all down, Amy's brow furrowed and her eyebrows knitted together. "That's four places…and we don't even know what we're looking for."

"Read out the whole message so far," said Dan. His mind began to think in overdrive.

"_I have found an i_at can help t_drinker with the side-effects of the serum. Add one _feather to the serum. This bird can be found in Ne_._ Ne could be The Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand or New Caledonia," reported Sinead.

Dan thought about the thirty nine clues. They had all been an ingredient for the serum. What if this feather was the _fortieth _ingredient? Was it possible?

As he was thinking about this, something on the paper caught his eye. "Hey, guys, what's that?" He pointed to a faint pencil mark.

Amy held the piece of paper up to the light, and written in faint pencil, they could see _1st voyage Cook_.

* * *

**Amy**

Something about the message rang a bell in Amy's head. Something about Cook and voyage. Somehow, Amy didn't think Cook was about food.

"I need to think," she announced to the others. Grabbing her stuff, she walked to the library. She had read most of the books here, and she stopped at a globe of the world, resisting the temptation of spinning it. She examined it, tracing the outlines of all the continents, countries and cities. Suddenly, she gasped. _Cook. Voyage._ Everything made sense now.

Amy sprinted back to tell the others, dodging around Saladin. Rounding the corner, she skidded to a halt in front of Sinead and Dan. Nellie had gone somewhere.

"Guys, I know what it means now," Amy puffed.

"What?" Dan urgently asked.

"Captain Cook. The famous explorer and cartographer." She watched as Sinead's mouth formed a perfect 'O'.

"There was a cook who was also a captain? What a messed up ship," Dan muttered.

"No, you dweeb. Captain James Cook was a captain. His last name was Cook. He wasn't a cook," Amy told him. She was annoyed that Dan hadn't taken this seriously.

"First voyage. Where did he go on his first voyage?" Sinead wondered. Dan opened his laptop and the sound of keys tapping could be heard.

"Found it!" Dan called out. "He went from England, around Cape Horn, to Tahiti, then to New Zeala-"

They all shouted out together, "New Zealand!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry, I forgot to mention, this is set after Into the Gauntlet and before the Vespers Rising series.**

**Thanks to KatnissCahill, AmianNatan4ever and 39cluesFan for reviewing in the last chapter. You guys rock!**

**So, hope you like this chapter!**

**Sorry, forgot to do the disclaimer in the last chapter. Actually, I forgot to do it in every chapter I wrote up to now. I'll do it in future chapters!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything here except for the plot. And maybe a few OCs. If I did the series would probably suck.**

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**Amy**

Amy and Dan packed clothes, food, weapons and tools for the trip. They had booked tickets to Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand. Then, they notified their Cahill cousins about the trip.

When they came off the plane, Amy sighed. The plane trip had been uneventful and boring. It was similar with other trips, with Dan spilling airplane food on her again.

Passing customs was easy, Amy and Dan had lied so many times during the clue hunt that they could do it in the blink of an eye. They didn't find the weapons hidden in seemingly harmless objects.

When they went outside, they breathed in fresh air. Everywhere they looked, there was bright an natural colours. Green grass, green trees, blue sky, fluffy white clouds.

Amy noticed that there weren't many taxis around. Everyone drove their own cars. Getting around could be difficult.

They sat in a cafe and had lunch. Nellie's eyes turned wide as she thought about all the new recipes she could learn. They had something called 'pavlova', which tasted like meringues with fruit. Nellie immediately asked for the recipe.

During lunch, Amy thought about their plan. They were going to find out more about the birds of New Zealand, and their first stop was the library.

Amy was completely at ease here. The librarians gave them a huge book of illustrated New Zealand Birds.

"This is going to be hard. Very hard. There are so many birds in here!" Amy complained.

The librarian overheard her and told them, "There are many different birds in New Zealand, many which are endangered. Do you have an idea of what you're looking for?"

Amy flashed the librarian a smile and replied, "We're just looking for a bird only found in New Zealand. Could you tell us about some famous ones?"

"Well, there's the kiwi, the national bird of New Zealand. They can't fly, and they look like they don't have wings. They actually have wings that are around about five centimeters long, but they're hidden by their long shaggy feathers. They also have a long beak for probing the ground for food and short thick legs.

Then there's the fantail. They have long tails that look like fans when they're spread out.

We also have a tui, its feathers are a mixture of black, dark blue, dark green, and dark purple. What makes it special is the white throat feathers hanging on under its chin.

The kea, kaka and kakapo look very similar. They're all green, and they all are parrots. But the kea is a mountain parrot - it lives in the mountain ranges in the South Island and loves to take shiny things, like a magpie. Keas have scarlet feathers on the inside of their wings. Kakapos are nocturnal, and they are flightless. They have soft lining around their faces, and are sometimes known as 'owl parrots'. They can grow up to 60cm in height, and 3.5kg in weight, and can live up to sixty years. Kakas are related to keas, but is darker than keas. They also have scarlet under the wings.

As well as that, we have many other birds, such as the morepork or ruru, the takehe, the pukeko, the wood pigeon or kereru, to name a few. Also, New Zealand is the home to a few different penguin species, like the little blue penguin and the yellow-eyed penguin, or hoiho. We also have many birds that are extinct, such as the moa and the Haast's eagle. Moa were in the same family as the ostrich, but much bigger."

Amy's eyes widened at so many different birds only found in New Zealand. And these were only birds! She couldn't imagine how many different mammals, reptiles, fish and insects there were!

Amy sighed. This was going to be very hard.

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**AN: Thanks for reading, I know it's short, sorry! Please review!**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here's the next chapter! In the last chapter, ****_all_**** the birds were real - I didn't make any up! - and there are many more different birds!**

**I've decided to not put the names in when changing the POV. It just makes mystery POVs much more easier ;D**

**Thanks to UniversalForce13 and KatnissCahill for reviewing in the last chapter! And special thanks to KatnissCahill for recommending me in her story!**

**Whoops, I said this was set before the Vespers Rising series. That's actually the eleventh book in the first series, the story's actually set before the ****_Cahill vs. Vespers_**** series…**

**I have something that's bothering me, and if you can answer the question, can you please tell me? How old are the Starlings at the beginning of the clue hunt? Lots of people say different ages so…Also, what are their general appearance? All I know is Sinead has auburn hair.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the 39 Clues I wouldn't be posting this on FanFiction…**

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Dan almost gave up in defeat. So many birds. This was hardly possible! He summarised all the birds the librarian had said. He wondered which one was the bird they were looking for.

He, Amy and Nellie were in their hotel. They were trying to figure out which bird was the correct one. He stared out the window, and saw a pair of black birds with white throat feathers. According to the librarian's description, these were tui. Even outside the native forest, native birds were a common sight.

Suddenly, Dan's laptop, which he was researching on, beeped. There was an incoming Skype call from Sinead. He pressed answer and called Nellie and Amy. Sinead's face appeared on the screen.

"Guy's, we've found something. We think it could give you guys a lead."

"Wait…we? Who else is there?" Amy asked. Dan could tell she didn't want to drag anyone else into this.

Ted and Ned both stuck their faces in front of the camera and said at the same time, "Hi!"

"We were cleaning out the unused laboratory and we found this vial." Ned held up a sludgy pale green liquid in a vial. "After doing some tests, we found out that this is the original serum. But there's a secret ingredient in there that we can't figure out."

"Wait…the serum was originally green. Like, bright green. How come it's a lot paler now?" Dan cut in.

"We don't know," replied Ted. "Wrapped around it was a piece of old paper. It was in another language though. We couldn't recognise it." He held up a piece of wrinkled paper and smoothed it out. Nellie looked at it for a long time before admitting defeat.

"I've never seen this language before," sighed Nellie. Dan's shoulders slumped. Why couldn't it be in a language they understood?

He looked over the paper. Something caught his eye. At the bottom, a small picture of a green book was faintly drawn with pencil. In his brain, something clicked.

"Look! Over there! There's a small green book. And I've seen it before!" Dan exclaimed. Amy's eyes immediately lit up.

"Where? Tell us!" she shouted.

Dan thought for a moment before saying, "Remember when we finished the clue hunt and we were packing our stuff? Well, I packed this green book into a box. I thought it was Aunt Beatrice's, so I didn't look through it."

Ned quickly rushed away to find the green book. Finally, he came back, triumphant, holding a huge, thick book. He propped it up so the people on the other side of the camera could see it, then opened it dramatically.

Inside were pages upon pages of beautiful illustrations of birds. All the pictures were done in full detail, in full colour, with a little explanation of every bird in a corner. On every page was a different bird, and they were all done in pencil. Then, Dan's mind comprehended something. All the birds in the book were from New Zealand. On one page there was a fantail, on another was a yellow-eyed penguin. Dan recognised the yellow feathers above its eyes. _What does this mean?_ he thought.

Ned was flipping through the pages, and Dan noticed that the pictures were gradually fading in colour. Amy let out a gasp. "The birds are in a specific order. They're put from most common to most endangered," she babbled. Ned immediately flipped to the last few pages. There were moa and giant eagles. They didn't have any colour, instead, they were coloured in greys and blacks. "See? These birds are extinct. I researched about it. The Maori people hunted the moa when they first came to New Zealand. The Haast's Eagle only hunted the moa, so when the moa became extinct, they also did."

Sinead and Ted were nodding to what Amy had just said. Dan didn't really understand the whole thing.

"I'll take a picture of each page and email it to you," said Sinead. Amy nodded.

"Thanks."

With that, the Skype call ended.

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**AN: I've decided to not make these chapters as long as my other story's. And I know this chapter is boring but it's important. So…please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here's the next chapter!**

**Thanks to a guest reviewer (AmianLover) and SpontaneousSugarRush for answering my question in the previous chapter! Also thanks to Otakusofia (guest) and KatnissCahill for reviewing!**

**I'm so sorry for updating late! I was working on my other stories, and I don't really have ideas on what to do next…please tell me any good ideas you have! I'm bringing in the Kabras this chapter :D**

**Also please ignore my POV babbling in the last chapter. I AM going to put POVs in…**

**Disclaimer: Why would you think I own the 39 Clues? If I did, I wouldn't be writing on FANFICTION now, would I?**

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**Dan**

The pictures came in quite quickly, obviously because of the Ekat technology. Amy looked through them closely, one at a time. Then she did it again. Dan was lounging on the couch, stuffing Skittles into his mouth. She mumbled under her breath, "can't find a pattern to them, aren't they just _pictures_?" Dan watched her in amusement as she sighed in frustration and nearly threw them all into the bin. Instead, she dumped them on the floor, the picture facing up.

"Amy. Why are all of them facing right, but one of them facing left?" Dan pointed out. It seemed so obvious from the start. She grabbed the picture and inspected it.

"It's a tui. Scientific name is _Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae_, it eats nectar, fruit, insects, seeds and pollen. Its name was originated from the Maori language," Amy read.

"When did _you_ get so smart about birds?" Dan asked. He could tell she was annoyed - he purposely asked that so she would be. She rolled her eyes and patiently explained to him.

"I read it from this picture. It has a little fact box. Duh!" she explained.

"Oh, can I see it then?" he asked. She handed the picture over and he inspected it closely. He concentrated on the feathers, starting from the head, all the way to the tail. At first he thought all the feathers were black, but he noticed some white flecks around its neck, and some of the feathers gave off a blue or green sheen. _How did the artist do that?_ he wondered.

Just then, they heard muffled shouting outside their hotel room. Dan stopped reading, head cocked to the door. The shouting could be heard more clearly now. The arguers had a foreign accent, and accent not from any of the countries they had visited, but still familiar.

"No! I will NEVER stay in a peasant hotel like this one! It's not even five stars!" shouted one of them. The sound was muffled by the door but Dan could still make out the words. Something clicked in his brain, although he couldn't place a finger on it. Something seemed familiar…

Dan gasped and silenced the others. He wanted to hear the reply.

"No, Natalie, we are staying here, and that's final. I don't care if this isn't a five star hotel - it's four stars, and that's good enough for me. Stop whining, or sleep outside on the streets."

"But _Ian_! I don't want to become a peasant, even if _you_ are. You think four stars is good enough! How could you?"

Dan and Amy stared at each other with wide eyes. Then Amy opened the door and peeked out, then opened it wider. Dan then saw who the people outside were, although he already had a hunch about it.

"Hello, love."

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**Natalie**

They were in some foreign country. After Ian heard about the Cahills' mission he dragged her with him to 'find the clue'. She scoffed. More like see Amy, the colour-blind peasant again. Why he was so obsessed with her was beyond Natalie. She wasn't even that rich, and she had _no fashion sense whatsoever_.

The plane was miniature, hardly able to be called a proper aircraft. The airport was so small. There weren't even a shopping mall inside. Only souvenir shops and cafes. She had grumbled throughout the bus trip. Her, Natalie Kabra, travelling by a _peasant bus_! The horror! But, she had to admit, the scenery was nice at first. It turned boring after a few minutes of staring at the exact same hills, the exact same grass, the exact same sky. Then, Ian _insisted_ that they stay in this 'nice comfy hotel'. A nice comfy hotel that didn't even reach her expectations of five stars. The only good thing was that they could both get separate rooms.

She was just about to go upstairs to relax and maybe have a shower when she saw Ian pulling up their luggage.

"Carry your own bags. I'm only carrying mine," Ian had snapped. She had shouted and argued, telling him that she wasn't ever going to be doing something as peasant-like as that. Then, the Cahills just _had_ to ruin what could've been a nearly-nice holiday and turn it into an absolutely _horrible_ trip. And of course, Daniel Cahill, the ninja-obsessed brat, just _had_ to insist she eat one of those American fattening candies. What were they called again? Oh yeah, Skittles. Obviously, she refused. She couldn't believe they even sold them at this country as well!

She stood at the doorway awkwardly, unsure of whether to sit on one of the couches or remain standing. Ian sat down, so she followed him and delicately sat on a white sofa, maintaining her perfect posture.

Amy asked, "What are you guys doing in New Zealand?"

"Yeah, New Zealand is completely snake-free. So you Cobras don't belong here." That was Daniel. Natalie was surprised she didn't know about New Zealand being snake-free. Was it really? But they weren't _Cobras_, they were _Kabras_. She growled under her breath. She couldn't let the brat get under her skin.

Distantly, she heard Ian reply, "We're looking for the secret ingredient. You know, the one _you're_ here for." She sat straighter and perked her ears. This was news for her. She thought they were only here for a holiday. Amy also looked startled, and even Dan had stopped eating to hear his sister's reply. _No, not Dan, Daniel,_ she mentally scolded herself.

"What do you know about it?" Amy whispered. Ian smirked, pleased to have her so uncomfortable.

"Well…we know it's in New Zealand. We know that it is a feather from a bird that's only found in New Zealand."

Natalie stared at her brother. He had not told any of this to her. Was this really why they were here? Why didn't he tell her? Didn't he trust her? Sighing, she left to refresh herself in her hotel room.

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**AN: So…did you like it? I'm so sorry for the late update! Ok, a question to you guys: Do you want Amian and Natan? Which one, or both? (I can probably guess the answer already XD) Anyway, thanks for reading, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! I'm very sorry, but this will be on hiatus. I won't discontinue this, just maybe update once in a while... Also, because I want to focus on my other fic, as that's my top priority right now.**

**Thanks so much to KatnissCahill, SpontaneousSugarRush, The Gone Angel, alikatcahill17, Deagan 4ever, Mistycat62 and Otakusofia for reviewing! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the 39 Clues.**

**And without further ado, let's get to the chapter!**

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**Dan**

The Cobras were here.

He didn't hate the fact as much as he would've at the beginning of the clue hunt. He even offered Natalie some Skittles.

But this clue was special. There weren't any other competitors anymore. It was _their_ clue. He didn't want to share it with the Kabras.

Ian and Natalie had gone back to their hotel room, and they had just ended a Skype call with the Starlings, updating them on their finds with the bird pictures, and the Kabras. Nellie was nowhere to be seen, Amy was just closing the laptop, and Dan was tidying up the pictures, stifling a yawn. When he finally finished everything and put it into a pile on the table in the corner, he stretched and walked into the bedroom for some sleep. He heard Amy go into the bathroom. Ignoring her, he flopped onto the bed without changing into his pyjamas, and closed his eyes.

A wave of exhaustion crashed down onto him and he felt his eyelids drooping. A moment later, he fell into a dark void of nothingness.

He suddenly woke up by a loud crashing noise coming from the room he and Amy were in before, where they were sorting out the pictures. Running to the scene of crime, he skidded to a halt at the edge of a widely spread pile of glass. There was a gaping hole in the window that let in a cold breeze, and Dan winced as his glass shards pricked into his toes. On the floor was a large rock attached to a long cord which lead out the hole in the window.

Amy came rushing out from the bathroom, calmly surveying the scene with her eyes. Her eyes swept across the room once, then back again, then she gasped.

"Dan! The pictures. They're missing!"

* * *

**Amy**

She was shocked. This was nothing new - during the cluehunt, Cahills had stolen leads and clues in order to get to the top. But now, they _had_ no competition. She didn't know who would be trying to stop them now.

A quick look around again showed her nothing new, so she grabbed some shoes and walked to the hole in the window, her feet crunching on the glass. Once she was there, she peered out, hoping the thief was still there, on the side of the building, or something.

There was nothing. All she could see was a long cord stretching to the ground, and swaying a bit in the breeze.

She couldn't see anyone.

When she turned around, she saw Dan brushing up the glass, and she sighed. Their only lead was gone, and now, she didn't know how they would find the feather. It must be some sort of tui feather, but which one? If they got it wrong... The whole serum could backfire.

Maybe she should tell the Kabras... After all, they _were_ looking for it as well, and there was none of that hostility that there was during the clue hunt.

Before she could change her mind, she went to their hotel room, where they were staying, and knocked.

No one answered.

She knocked again - maybe they just didn't hear her.

After a long time of waiting, she opened the door slowly and peered inside. The first thing that caught her attention was how neat it was. Not at all messy, like their room, but as if it was ready for a new guest.

The second thing was the silence. She half-expected to hear Natalie complaining and demanding something, and Ian bossing someone around. Instead, there was no noise, apart from the hum from the fridge and the ticking from the clock.

She walked inside, her footsteps muffled on the thick carpet. The main room was empty, so she checked the bedroom. It was empty. The bed was made, there were no clothes to be seen, and the curtains were drawn back. Amy looked around to find their luggage - she knew the Kabras would bring a LOT of bags. There was nothing. The closet was determined empty, once she thoroughly checked it, and the bathroom leading from the bedroom held no sign of ever been used.

After inspecting the whole place, Amy could determine one thing.

The Kabras were gone.

* * *

**Ian**

Ian walked briskly down the footpath, glancing around to make sure no one was tailing them. He had already called for his personal butler to take their bags to the airport, ready to be packed into their private jet. He could feel the subtle weight of the huge stack of papers clenched in one of his hands.

"Where are we going?" whined Natalie. Ian sighed. He knew he should tell her, but he also knew that she would freak out if he told her that they were meeting the last person she would want to meet - their mother.

Ian also knew that he shouldn't be doing this, that this was wrong. Isabel was a murderer, a ruthless Lucian that wouldn't hesitate to kill to get what she wanted. But she was also his mother, and right now, the thing he wanted most was a complete family again. When he was young, Isabel hadn't been this ruthless or cold. Neither had Vikram. And Ian hoped they could be a happy family again, just like old times.

A voice at the back of his head told him that this happy family picture would never come true. And deep down, Ian knew it was right. But he wanted a proper family so much that he was prepared to ignore it.

Ignoring his sister's protests, he grabbed her arm and walked faster. He took turns and crossed streets as if he knew the city like the back of his hand. In reality, all he had done was memorise the map. He kept on walking until he reached a tall pointy building - the Skytower. There, at the entrance, waiting for him, was Isabel Kabra.

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**AN: As I said before, I'm very sorry for being such a horrible author and not updating in forever, then putting this story on hiatus. Thank you all for reading and reviewing :)**

**If you have a moment, could you please R&R my HG fic, Daughter of Fire? Thank you very much if you can - this means a lot to me.**

**Please review, and tell me what you thought of this chapter!**


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